Japanese Buddhist Leader Denounces Religious Intolerance in Japan

Calls for Prosecution of Forced-Conversion Professionals

New York, NY -- A respected Buddhist priest in Japan has called
for Japanese authorities to prosecute those responsible for
kidnapping and imprisoning members of the Unification Church.

In an official letter to a Committee for the Inquest of
Prosecution assisting the state prosecutor dated March 14, Rev. Dohki
Mihara, a Sotoshu Buddhist priest, wrote: "Getting to know about
Mr. Toru Goto's case of religious kidnapping and confinement that
lasted for 12 years and 5 months, a case which was clearly based on a
purpose to break his faith in the Unification Church, I felt deep
despair and grief to find out that Japan, although calling itself a
cultured nation, has not acquired human decency, common sense in
respect for human rights, or the basic attitude of democratic
nation."

Mr. Goto's case was dismissed by Tokyo prosecutors with no
indictments but will now be considered by a citizens' panel empowered
to re-open the case." The letter continued: "I strongly ask
the police and the prosecutor's office to courageously act against
such illegal crimes according to the law. For this, I ask the people
who have been chosen as the members of the committee for this case to
indict this case so it may be judged righteously in court."

Rev. Mihara is the former president of the Religionists' Forum, an
ecumenical association of Buddhist, Christian, and Shinto religious
leaders in Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. He was
speaking to the fact that since 1969 more than 4,300 members of the
Unification Church have been kidnapped and confined by misguided
relatives and opponents of the church. As has been reported, some of
the victims have been beaten, sexually assaulted or tortured while in
captivity.

Rev. Mihara's letter defended his call for action by the
following: "If we cannot stand up for justice and give
punishments to those who committed crimes, that nation cannot be
called a law-abiding nation based on the spirit of democracy, because
democracy fundamentally builds on the security of the freedom of
thought, creed, and speech."

The priest's letter also explained that he had reconciled with his
own daughter after initially opposing her decision to join the
Unification Church. He wrote: "Back then, I was not able to
forgive my daughter who was attracted to another religion when her
father is a Buddhist priest, so I faced her directly with no
intervention of a third person and had long and straight-forward
conversations and arguments. After these frank discussions with my
daughter, I was able to understand her true faith and peace of mind.
Today, my daughter and I have not only recovered our trustful
relationship of parent and child but have built a stronger
relationship where we can rely on each other more than ever."

Demonstrations of Unificationists protesting the lack of police
protection in Japan have been noticed by Reuters and the Associated
Press in Korea. The New York Post.com on April 27 published a photo
gallery illustrating a press conference in Seoul in on April 21.
www.nypost.com/t/Unification_Church!1#topic_photo_div#ixzz0mcUlGDx4

The caption of the first photo had the following text: "Japanese
members of the Unification Church who are married to South Korean men
take part in a news conference in Seoul April 21, 2010. The
Unification Church members want the South Korean and Japanese
governments to ensure they are safe to return to Japan as they fear
their relatives might forcibly detain them and make them renounce
their religion. The Korean characters on the yellow sash read,
"Please free us from fears of detention and kidnapping".

On April 28 the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington,
D.C.-based public interest law firm focused on issues of religious
liberty, began tracking the coverage in the New York Post and the
Examiner.com
becketinternational.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/japan-unification-church-members-speak-out-against-forced-conversions/